This invention relates generally to curtains, and more specifically, to methods and systems for deployment of curtains.
Curtains, and more specifically disposable or washable curtains, have long been used, in hospitals for example, to provide privacy, room division, and to a lesser extent, to cover storage areas. Generally, these curtains are suspended from an overhead track on a ceiling for operation. For example, the curtains can be operated to substantially surround a patient's bed for privacy, and retracted at other times when privacy is not an issue.
Known curtain hanging systems include curtain engagement members, such as hooks, which are suspended from and translatable along an overhead track. The curtain engagement members allow a curtain to be suspended from the overhead track and to be moved along the path of the overhead track.
However, known curtain hanging systems suffer from functional shortcomings. For example, in some known systems, curtain engagement members are coupled to each other via linkages, such as chains, to enable a curtain to be extended by pulling on one curtain engagement member and without applying tension to the curtain itself. When the curtain engagement members are positioned proximate to each other, such linkages may become entangled with each other and/or with a curtain engagement member. Known systems may also allow a curtain and/or a curtain engagement member to become decoupled from the overhead track when a lateral and/or upward force is inadvertently applied. Furthermore, known systems may be susceptible to unintended contraction of the curtain, especially when used with a heavy and/or strongly creased curtain.